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The Tao Of Twitter: Power Tips For Networking: Page 2 of 2

In particular, Schaefer encourages a spirit of generosity, or what he calls "authentic helpfulness." If you're willing to give more than you get out of an interaction, those you come in contact with will be more likely to remember you fondly and be generous with you in return--which can lead to introductions and referrals, as well as direct business.

The other elements of his prescription include targeted connections (taking a deliberate approach to building your network) and meaningful content (making the most of those 140 characters).

Much of Schaefer's advice would also apply to other social networks along with Twitter, although he does devote a fair amount of time to the specific mechanics of the Twitter, such as the use of hashtags (those #keywords beginning with the pound sign), as well as @mentions and @replies referencing other users by their usernames or handles.

For that matter, much of his advice echoes the best practices for offline business networking. That's exactly the point, Schaefer said. "If you go to a real-life networking community event and all you do is talk about your business and your blog, then people are going to walk away," he said. Instead, successful business networkers make small talk about community activities and sports, waiting until they get to know someone better before they slip in a pitch for business. Or they wait until they are asked about what they do for a living, ready to respond with something interesting about their business.

In a case study near the start of the book, Schaefer describes a string of profitable business connections started from a tweet about football ("Go Steelers!") that got a response from a woman in his network who also had a Pittsburgh connection. Having broken the ice with that connection, they wound up trading tips and favors that led to more introductions and opportunities and business. "The original connection that led to so many different benefits didn't come from discussion about a blog post. It came from a tweet about sports. Isn't that how so many friendships start [and] how so many relationships start? That's how relationships develop in the offline world, and that's how relationships develop in the online world," Schaefer said.

It's worth noting in the Steelers example that Twitter may have provided a key introduction, but part of the story also revolved around Schaefer's use of his blog to showcase the work of his newfound friends, which eventually led to offline meetings and business dealings. Schaefer said his blog is really his main online marketing channel aside from Twitter, the place where he can air his thoughts more thoroughly.

"I'm a small-business person. I don't have a large staff to delegate things to, so I have to be pretty careful about how I spend my time. I spend most of my time on blogging. You have to look at your individual business strategies to determine what's best for you. I run a business need to establish my voice of authority and relevance internationally. A blog is great for that, and Twitter is a great way to build that blog community," Schaefer said. Twitter gives him a way to reach out and find his audience rather than waiting for his audience to find him. "Twitter is like the movie trailer, where the blog is the movie."

Follow David F. Carr on Twitter @davidfcarr. The BrainYard is @thebyard and facebook.com/thebyard